Congressman Silvestre Reyes lost in the Democratic primary last night to challenger Beto O’Rourke. It’s a notable upset given that this is only the third time this year an incumbent has lost to an outside challenge. But it’s also indicative of a larger wave against corruption.

Republic Report profiled the race before, noting that Reyes has been dogged by corruption scandals, both in terms of his policy positions and how his family has benefitted from his political connections. Like the Cartwright-Holden race earlier this year, in which another veteran lawmaker plagued by corruption scandals was ousted, Reyes’ opponent ran on a platform of cleaning up Congress:

Screen shot from the Beto O'Rourke campaign website.

Reyes’ hardline views on the Drug War — going so far to suggest sending military drones for strikes in Mexico — were rewarded handsomely by military contractors, according to our review of FEC records. In contrast, O’Rourke has argued in favor of relaxing draconian drug laws, and favors legalization of marijuana.

The Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics PAC contributions to Reyes funded fear-mongering ads, which attempted to conflate O’Rourke’s support for marijuana legalization to legalization of all drugs:

But the eleventh-hour contributions from big business weren’t enough to save Reyes.

Will someone please tell me what the district makeup looks like? I know the incumbent is a Democrat, which means the Dems should still have a decent chance of holding the seat even with a lesser-known nominee, but… well, it’s Texas. Will they be able to hold it?

Although corruption should be rooted out, it is unfortunate to see a presumptive congressman perpetuate a gimmick like term-limits.

Term limits for legislators is an incredibly short-sighted and misguided faux-solution. In every state legislature where they have tried such an idea, you see legislative service become a temporary stepping-stone to cushy corporate/lobbying jobs. Additionally, no member of the legislature is then able to spend enough time on committees to learn about specific subjects and how best to create, amend, or kill legislation pertaining to that specialization (a doctor might know about healthcare, but a newbie doctor-turned legislator will still not know how to write bills about healthcare…same for teachers, etc.).

In places where this has happened, there has also been a significant drop in the public’s confidence in / approval of their legislature, largely owing to the aforementioned negative consequences of term limits.

Republic Report is dedicated to rooting out the corruption that is so corrosive to American values. We investigate and uncover the buying and selling of politicians and of institutions entrusted with upholding the public interest. We expose how big money distorts major policy decisions – harming our economy and our people.